fish
fish

Fishy tale of underwater mobile phonebooth

I'm in the ocean

Nick Farrell

For those who often find themselves having to take a call in strange places, France Telecom has invented a phonebooth that works underwater.

Boffins assure vnunet.com that the phone will work at any depth, removing that irrating need for speedy surfacing, leading to a nasty attack of the bends, each time the phone rings on dry land.

Advertisement

The system comprises a buoy fitted with a GSM phone relay that connects to an underwater phone booth. The terminal is connected to the buoy by a wire, and is equipped with a telephone keyboard.

A special mouthpiece prevents the user from drowning while using the phone. The caller has to bite on the mouthpiece and push a button, and sound vibrations are resonated off the diver's skull which acts as a resonance chamber.

The product is pitched at "professionals working underwater", presumably divers, archeologists and victims of rising sea levels.

The phone was first tested by archeologists digging up Queen Cleopatra's palace in the waters off Alexandria. It enabled the divers to ring up for directions during their dig.

While many would have considered the technology of limited use, France Telecom is planning to roll out the system in 2002. The company is investigating a cordless version of the technology that dispenses with the phone box and uses ultrasound or weak electrical currents.

  • Have your say
  • Send to a friend
  • Print
  • Digg
  • Reddit
  • Share

Tags:

Do you agree?

Further reading

Related whitepapers

Related jobs

Most watched

Summit video: Intel discusses processors designed for data overload (part one of two)

Intel explains how its Xeon processors can handle data-intensive apps

Summit: Intel discusses processors for data overload (part 2 of 2)

More thoughts on how servers can help manage overload

Analysis and Reports

Remote access - Three steps to getting connected

3.4 million UK professionals now work from home – is your company equipped?

Cost benefits of a global collaboration network

This white paper is a must read for organisations looking for evidence of the bottom-line benefits of high-definition video and voice communications

Poll

Impact of Information Overload poll

Impact of Information Overload poll

What is the biggest problem your firm faces as a result of the data explosion?

View poll results

Advertisement

White paper library

Keep up to date with the latest products, services and technologies from the world's leading IT companies; IThound.com brings you over 6,000 white papers, case studies and analyst reports.

Advertisement

Newsletter signup

Sign up for our range of FREE newsletters:

Existing User

Newsletter user login:

Enter email address to edit your newsletter preferences

Job of the week

Search thousands of IT jobs :

Search thousands of IT jobs:

Advanced search

Hiring now on ComputingCareers:

Related IT jobs

Search thousands of IT jobs :

Search thousands of IT jobs:

Advanced search

Advertisement

Spotlight

deloitte

Summit interview: Deloitte discusses security implications of the data deluge

We chat to Mike Maddison, UK head of Security, Privacy...

ibm logo

IBM boosts mobile shopping with WebSphere Commerce

Update designed to give mobile users a richer, more personalised...

Summit: Intel discusses processors for data overload (part 2 of 2)

More thoughts on how servers can help manage overload

chrome logo

Google plans a Mac version of Chrome

A Mac-friendly version of the browser is in the pipeline

Primary Navigation